Rangers place Andrus on IL amid flurry of roster moves

Dave Skretta, Ap Sports Writer

Updated
5:20 pm CDT, Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Kansas City Royals' Nicky Lopez, left, safely steals second base as Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, caches a late throw in the third inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, May 14, 2019. less

Kansas City Royals' Nicky Lopez, left, safely steals second base as Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, caches a late throw in the third inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, ... more

Photo: Colin E. Braley, AP

Photo: Colin E. Braley, AP

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Kansas City Royals' Nicky Lopez, left, safely steals second base as Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, caches a late throw in the third inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, May 14, 2019. less

Kansas City Royals' Nicky Lopez, left, safely steals second base as Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, right, caches a late throw in the third inning of a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, ... more

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs was also recalled from Nashville and right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang sent to the same club before the Rangers played the middle game of their three-game set against the Royals.

Andrus hurt his hamstring while running out a ground ball in the seventh inning of the series opener Tuesday night. Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he thinks Andrus should be ready to come back within 10 days, but he wants to make sure the injury is fully healed.

"I hope it's before that," Woodward said, "because then he'll be ready. You don't want this to linger with him being an older guy and a shortstop. There are a lot of demands on that position."

Andrus, who was hitting .325 with six homers and 26 RBIs, had started a team-high 38 games. The only one he missed came against Oakland on April 24, when he was hit by a pitch and bruised his hand.

His injury gave Woodward the chance to bring Calhoun up to the club.

Once a consensus top-100 prospect, Calhoun has struggled in brief stints with the Rangers the past two seasons. But he hit .302 with eight homers and 22 RBIs at Nashville, were he claimed to have found some hitches in his swing that he managed to work through this season.

"Honestly I just got back to watching a lot of video from 2017, my years with the Dodgers. Those were my best offensive years," he said. "I figure some things out with my swing."

Calhoun wouldn't get into the details of his swing changes, but he did acknowledge "hitting more strikes than balls." And while that might sound like an obvious way to improve at the plate, the reality is that training — or more accurately, honing — a batter's eye is a difficult proposition.

The 24-year-old outfielder, who was in the starting lineup and batting second Wednesday night in Kansas City, wasn't expecting the call-up. He had just gone to sleep after an early game Tuesday and a long trip to Dallas when his phone began ringing in his room.

"I didn't answer because I thought it was my mom," he said. "Then I answered it the second time."